


My Reputation Precedes Me

by churroars



Category: GOT7
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Confident Youngjae, Jaebum is whipped, M/M, Sort of? - Freeform, their ages are all wack because its easier for me, youngjae and bambam are Best Thot Friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-22
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-05-16 08:54:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19314832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/churroars/pseuds/churroars
Summary: jaebum has been in love with youngjae for basically his whole life. not even youngjae's transformation from a meek goody goody to a confident, tempting young man changed that. he's prepared to pine into old age, but when youngjae runs into him while he's at work and asks jaebum to show him around campus, he's not really sure how to proceed.





	My Reputation Precedes Me

Choi Youngjae has a bit of a… reputation. In middle school and the beginning of high school, it was for being a bit of a goody two shoes. He sort of had to be, seeing as he was the principal's son. Fortunately, that particular connection kept him from being bullied throughout the years, since nobody wanted the principal to tell their parents they were picking on her son. The woman herself had a reputation, one for “leaving things to the parents”. Which actually meant that she would convince them to enforce whatever punishment she saw fit, and the shame would only be worse for the kids by having it come from their parents.

 

Youngjae was actually not that popular, despite being a very nice kid with a mom in a high position. He was quite shy and often didn’t even eat with the other kids. No one knew for sure where he went during lunch, but it was correctly assumed that he ate with his mother. Park Jinyoung had once attempted to befriend him, but the boy was simply too nervous to hold a conversation with.

 

He had started acting strange, for Youngjae, in the middle of sophomore year. He dyed his hair blonde, would often talk back to the teachers, and someone once swore they had seen a tattoo on his arm. Word was, the boys mother was at a loss and wasn’t sure how to handle this new attitude, since he’d always been so mild mannered. She was so lost, in fact, that she’d sent him over to Thailand to stay with one of her cousins for the summer thinking some time away would calm him down.

 

Well.

It didn’t.

 

Youngjae came back different, yes. But rather than going back down the road to passiveness, he’d followed a path no one really expected. He’d come back with one of his friends who’d always wanted to live in Korea. Bambam was, to put it mildly, quite the character. Most people attributed Youngjae’s new behavior to the Thai boy, since he also seemed to have picked up some of the boys style. The style that some of the more vulgar students referred to as “slut chic”. 

 

Yes, the two boys had come into junior year with an air that screamed “promiscuity”. The boys mother had been understandably outraged, not wanting her 17 year old son to be walking around in shorts that barely covered his ass. Not because she cared about how he dressed exactly, but she knew how teenage boys acted and she was concerned that her boy would either be attacked by the rougher crowd, or pushed into activities that he was simply too young for. 

 

Youngjae and Bambam, along with their friend Jackson, had only run into any sort of trouble once. While she may not be their principal anymore, his mother had still struck the fear of god into the students and most didn’t care to provoke her wrath. The ones that had attempted to jump the three boys had gotten a nasty surprise, since Youngjae had been taking martial arts classes for most of his life and was not as meek as he used to be. If that wasn’t enough, Jackson’s boyfriend Mark hadn’t been far behind and was, coincidentally, also quite proficient at martial arts. They were left alone after that.

 

As for things he was too young for, no one was too sure about that. There were certainly rumors that went around about who he had slept with, but Youngjae had never paid any mind to those, so they were left unconfirmed. However, with so many rumors it was assumed at least some of them had to be true. Consequently, he had gained a reputation for being sort of easy.

 

Jaebum hadn’t seen Youngjae for almost a year now. He’d started uni just as Youngjae had started his senior year. Now, he didn’t think about Youngjae a lot, seeing as he was very busy and barely had time to remember to breathe. Unfortunately though, a crush that’s been around since primary school doesn’t just go away after 11 months of distance, and he did think about him more often than he should. 

 

Whether he was in the middle of class or in the middle of his shift at the caf é near campus, he would get occasional thoughts about the younger boy. What was he eating, was he enjoying his day, how long was his hair now, and other things. And yes, he was aware that, as a 20 year old man, he should definitely get over his first crush that he would probably never see again. Youngjae would likely graduate and go off to some school in Thailand, never sparing Jaebum another thought. They’d rarely interacted at school as it was so it was the most realistic outcome. 

 

But, in the barest of terms, Jaebum is kind of pathetic.

He prefers to say “pathetically in love”, but Jinyoung says the keyword is still “pathetic”.

 

By the time Jaebum is well and truly over Youngjae he’ll be in his early forties having never lost his virginity because he kept comparing everyone to Choi Fucking Youngjae. As it is, he’s a handsome, healthy uni student with no date on Valentines Day. And even better, he picked up an extra shift because Jinyoung is out with some short guy in their year named Jimin, and he didn’t want to sit around and mope. 

 

So here he is, working the register, serving a bunch of sappy couples their Valentines Day special, and moping. He should have just stayed at home, at least he would have gotten to sulk without having his loveless status rubbed in his face. He feels like vomiting. Jaebum’s not even paying attention to the door, knowing that everyone that comes in is just another couple of lovestruck fools who think sharing a pink frappé is going to prove how happy they are. So when he hears a familiar voice say his name in surprise he almost keels over in shock.

 

“Youngjae?”, he asks, really too stunned to say anything but say his name. Man he’s such an idiot. He promised himself if they ever met outside of school he would act so cool that Youngjae would just have to want to go out with him. First word he says and he’s already broken that promise.

 

Youngjae smiles at him when they finally lock eyes, almost like he’s genuinely happy to see him. Jaebum feels like the breath just got punched out of his chest. That’s the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen. He wishes he could just stare at it all day.

 

“Wow! I heard you went to Mokpo National but I didn’t think I would actually see you today. Bambam and I just came to check it out, it didn’t occur to me that we might actually run into someone we know.”, he explains with a wave of his hand, gesturing to his friend standing next to him. 

 

“Of course it’s you we run into though.”, the other boy snickers, only to get an elbow in his side. Jaebum has no idea what he meant by that but, judging by the scowl on Youngjae’s face, he doesn’t want to know. He smiles nervously. Youngjae’s hair is blue. He really wants to touch it.

 

“I’m probably more surprised to see you guys. Thought you’d go off to Thailand for uni. Didn’t think Mokpo National was adventurous enough for you two. ‘Specially after Jackson went all the way to America.”, he didn’t mean to speak so choppily but he’s really fucking scared right now. Bambams snickering has only intensified but Youngjae’s smiling at him in a placating way.

 

“Well, I definitely want to get out there but we both thought it would be better to be a bit more stable before traveling. Jackson’s only over there because Mark has enough money to ship him wherever he wants.”, Youngjae says, amusement in his voice. Jaebum really wants to make him laugh. He’s damn well gonna try.

 

“Oh I see, ha ha. Um. What can I get you guys?”, ugh he’s such a fucking chicken. He’s too overwhelmed to think of a good joke anyway, he’d probably end up sounding like an idiot. Youngjae’s smile falters a bit before he orders. 

 

“What’s your opinion on the Valentine’s special?”, he asks. Jaebum can’t help but break his professionalism a bit, he’s so goddamn sick of those things.

 

“They’re a capitalist scheme and if you order one I will literally start crying. Please order something normal, I can’t do this anymore.”, his delivery comes out flat because he’s dead serious but it makes Youngjae laugh anyway, and Jaebum’s heart feels like it just doubled in size. He’s probably going into cardiac arrest. 

 

“Okay, okay. I don’t want to cause any tears. How about two cinnamon mochas then? Medium.”, he says as he takes out his wallet, a little laugh still coloring his voice. It occurs then, as he’s punching in the order, that Youngjae and Bambam might be on a date. 

 

Yep, his heart is definitely failing.

 

“That’ll be ₩6782 please.”, he slaps the placid smile he uses for all customers on his face and tries not to wither away on the spot. Of course they’re on a date, they’ve been attached at the hip since they met, he’s a fool for not realizing it sooner. 

 

Youngjae pauses, a confused look coming over his features, as if he was staring at a puzzle that just broke itself up into even smaller pieces. Beside him, Bambam’s eyes narrow at Jaebum. The look is sharp enough that Jaebum feels like there’s a knife against his neck. 

 

‘Good lord.’, he thinks, ‘Please don’t realize I’m in love with your boyfriend. Just take your coffee and leave me alone.’

 

After Jaebum gives the order to his coworker, he expects the two to find a table while they wait. Instead, he sees a thoughtful look cross Youngjae’s face before the boy opens his mouth. 

  
  


“Hey, would you mind maybe showing me around campus tomorrow? We only toured half today, and Bambams going home tonight. I wanted to stay and check out the rest. What do you say?”, Youngjae offers. Bad Idea, Jaebum thinks. A Really, Really Bad Idea. He can’t be alone with Youngjae. He’ll have a heart attack, or cry, or confess his love and get brutally rejected because the boy already has a boyfriend that looks like a model. Or all three.

 

But maybe, if Jaebum gives him a tour tomorrow, he can convince them not to go there. He’ll make the school seem shitty enough that neither of them would ever want to step foot near the campus again. Because honestly, Jaebum can’t spend his whole uni experience running into the love of his life and said loves fucking boyfriend. 

 

“Um, sure. I’m not really doing anything tomorrow. We could meet here at 10 and we’ll walk to campus?”, he asks. Youngjae flashes that big, beautiful grin at him again and oh, that hurts. His coworker comes up behind him to hand him the drinks, and he’s grateful for an excuse to look away. 

 

“Yeah that totally works! I’ll see you at 10 then. Thanks!”, the younger boy says as he takes the drinks. He’s still smiling. The two of them turn to leave, but not before Bambam smirks at him one last time. 

 

“Yeah. Bye”, he responds lamely, when the door is already closing behind them. Shit. He really feels like vomiting.

**Author's Note:**

> this fic forced me to write it and now my bones hurt. please leave kudos if not a comment, it's very appreciated :)


End file.
